Entries in Job Creation
(11)

EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images(HONOLULU) -- President Obama welcomed Asian-Pacific leaders to the APEC summit on Sunday, saying their ultimate goal is to create a “seamless regional economy” to boost growth and job creation in their 21 countries.

“It’s time to get down to work, and we have much to do. Our 21 economies -- our nearly three billion citizens -- are looking to us to bring our economies closer, to increase exports, to expand trade and opportunity that creates jobs and economic growth. That’s why we’re here,” the president said.

Obama said APEC can accomplish this goal by increasing trade, promoting green jobs and streamlining regulations to encourage job creation.

The president also continued to stress that the region is “absolutely critical to America’s economic growth.”

“We consider it a top priority because we’re not going to be able to put our folks back to work and grow our economy and expand opportunity unless the Asia Pacific region is also successful,” Obama said.

On Monday, the president will participate in a dialogue with APEC Business Advisory Council members and have a working lunch with APEC leaders before facing the press in a news conference later in the afternoon.

TOBY JORRIN/AFP/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- As the struggle between the White House and Congress over how to get Americans back to work has heated up in recent weeks, House Speaker John Boehner's relationship with President Obama has grown "frosty," the Ohio Republican said on Sunday.

But Boehner maintains that they still have a "pretty good relationship" and they can work together on job creation measures and on reaching a long-term deficit reduction plan in Congress this month.

"The president and I have a pretty good relationship," Boehner said in an exclusive interview with ABC's This Week anchor Christiane Amanpour. "It's been a little frosty here the last few weeks. But we've got a pretty good relationship."

"That doesn't mean that we always agree," he added. "But the American people expect, even though we have very different ideas, the American people want us to look for common ground and then act on it. ... We've taken some steps in the right direction here over the last couple of months. We've got a lot more steps to take together."

While the latest jobs report showed only modest growth, with the unemployment rate dropping slightly to 9.0 percent, little progress has been made in Congress on job creation measures since Obama introduced his American Jobs Act in September.

Boehner cited the recently-passed free trade bills with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea as recent bipartisan actions in Congress, but he said further action on jobs is being stalled by the Democratic-controlled Senate.

"We've passed 22 bills, all with bipartisan support, that would help reduce barriers to job growth," Boehner said. "They all remain in the United States Senate."

Last week, the Senate failed to pass portions of Obama's jobs bill, including bipartisan measures on infrastructure spending, because Democrats pushed to pay for them with a tax on millionaires.

"Over half of the people who would be taxed under this plan are, in fact, small business people," Boehner said. "And, as a result, you're going to basically increase taxes on the very people that we're hoping will reinvest in our economy and create jobs. That's the real crux of the problem."

Alex Wong/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- Rick Perry’s first ad campaign of the election cycle carries a positive tone, focusing on the Texas governor’s job creation record while promising to produce at least two and a half million jobs.

“As President, I’ll create at least two and a half million new jobs -- and I know something about that,” Perry says in the ad, which will run in Iowa starting Wednesday.

The ad touts Perry’s Texas job creation record and reiterates some of the themes in the energy plan he unveiled two weeks ago, which aims to expand drilling oil and gas fields, eliminate regulations which impede the production of domestic energy and make American energy independent.

The details of the ad, which mixes graphics of energy projects with video of Perry speaking with workers, were first reported by the Daily Caller.

“In Texas, we’ve created over one million new jobs while the rest of the nation lost over two million. I’ll start by opening American oil and gas fields. I’ll eliminate President Obama’s regulations that hurt other sources of domestic energy like coal and natural gas. That will create jobs and reduce our reliance on oil from countries that hate America,” Perry says in the ad.

“Governor Perry’s new TV ad signals two priorities, American job creation and the families of Iowa,” Ray Sullivan, communications director for the Perry campaign said. “The ad, which will be widely seen on Iowa TV and cable stations, underscores Rick Perry’s commitment to sparking millions of new jobs and his record as America’s jobs governor.”

Sources with knowledge of the ad buy said the Perry campaign will pour approximately $175,000 in an ad buy in Iowa between Oct. 25 and Oct. 31 with the bulk of the ads airing in Cedar Rapids, Des Moines and Sioux City.

Perry has released a series of web videos since he announced his run for the presidency, but this ad run marks his first advertisement of his presidential run.

SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- House Speaker John Boehner told reporters Tuesday that he agrees with President Obama’s new slogan "We Can’t Wait,” and encouraged Senate Democrats to take action on 15 measures languishing in the upper chamber that he says would help get the unemployed back to work.

“The president says we can’t afford to wait,” the Ohio Republican said. “Well guess what? I agree with the president. We’ve got 15 bills that are sitting over in the United States Senate. After we finish this week, there’ll be 16 bills sitting over in the United States Senate waiting for action."

“It’s time for the Senate to work with the House, to work with the president, to help find common ground to move our economy forward and get the American people back to work,” he said.

While “American families and small businesses continue to struggle in this economy,” Boehner added, House Republicans continue to seek common ground with the president “so that we can create a better environment for job creation in our country.”

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor echoed Boehner’s agreement with the president, telling reporters, “We can’t wait and we have said all along that we can’t wait to try to resolve the major differences that we have between the two sides on tax increases and the like, but we can put those differences aside and work together on the things that can help job creation in this economy.

JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- President Obama has jumped to a 15-point lead over the Republicans in Congress in trust to handle job creation -- a sign the beleaguered president’s $450 billion jobs package has hit its mark in public opinion.

The latest ABC News/Washington Post poll found that 52 percent of Americans support the plan, and most say it just might work.

Overall approval of the U.S. Congress, meanwhile, has dropped to its lowest in polls dating back to the mid-1970s. And of the eight in 10 Americans who are dissatisfied with the way the country’s political system is working, more blame the Republicans in Washington than the president.

A month ago, Americans divided evenly, 40-40 percent, on whom they trusted more to handle job creation, Obama or the congressional Republicans. Now, after his jobs proposal and ongoing promotion of his plan, it’s 49-34 percent -- Obama’s first significant advantage over the GOP on jobs in ABC/Post polling since early 2010.

The president’s also maintained a large advantage over the Republicans in Congress in being seen as more concerned with the interests of middle-class Americans, now 52-32 percent. And the GOP, by a vast 70-17 percent, is seen as being more concerned than Obama with protecting the interests of the wealthy, a sentiment on which Obama has capitalized with his proposed millionaires’ tax.

Yet, the president’s hardly out of the woods. This poll, produced for ABC News by Langer Research Associates, finds that just 35 percent approve of his handling of jobs, and an identical 35 percent approve of his handling of the economy in general -- both new lows.

But there are no bragging rights here for the GOP. Many fewer Americans -- 20 percent -- approve of the way the Republicans in Congress are handling the economy. Even among Republicans and very conservative adults, 51 percent disapprove of Congressional Republicans on the economy. Among conservatives overall, 65 percent disapprove -- up 16 points from July.

Still, while Obama’s gained the edge on jobs, the price of his proposals hasn’t escaped notice: Congressional Republicans now lead him by a slight 7 points -- 46-39 percent -- in trust to handle taxes, a turnaround from last spring and the Republicans’ first advantage on this issue.

While the president and the opposition party do battle, Congress overall is much the worse for wear. Just 14 percent of Americans approve of the way it’s doing its job, compared with Obama’s 42 percent approval. That’s the lowest for Congress in polls by ABC and the Post, and Gallup previously, since 1974.

JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images(RALEIGH, N.C.) -- President Obama will travel to North Carolina on Monday to spotlight the need for new job creation.

During his trip, the president will visit Cree, Inc., a manufacturer of energy efficient LED lighting, and tour the company's facilities. Obama will then meet with his Jobs and Competitiveness Council, which include the CEOs of such high profile companies as Intel, GE, Comcast and Dupont, and executives from Facebook and the Small Business Administration.

With job creation stalled and unemployment creeping up again, the leaders of these private companies will discuss with Obama their ideas for increasing economic growth and revving up employment. It is within the private sector where the White House believes most new jobs will be created.

Some of the actions that are being recommended to the president will cost nothing, such as cutting government regulations.﻿

SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- For the time being, Republicans want to turn voters' attention away from cutting spending and reforming Medicare and redirect the focus on a more immediate concern: creating jobs.

This latest agenda comes days after the GOP lost a congressional seat in a Republican-dominated district of New York last Tuesday, as Medicare became the only issue on people's minds.

House Speaker John Boehner on Thursday introduced the package that featured a number of proposals, including promoting free trade and trimming regulations and taxes. However, the Ohio Republican acknowledged that it really wasn't all that much different from what the party has presented before.

In fact, some of the ideas came from last year's Pledge to America prior to the November elections, when the GOP stump focus was heavy on promised jobs creation. Current pieces of GOP legislation working their way through House committees include a number of the same proposals.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi countered, "These are the same policies in the Bush administration that did not create jobs, that increased the deficit [and] did not strengthen the middle class."﻿

Johanns[dot]Senate[dot]gov(WASHINGTON) -- Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.) says that government needs to get out of the way, to allow the job creation process to take place in the U.S.

Speaking in the weekly Republican address, Sen. Johanns said that job creation doesn’t start with government but with businesses, small businesses in particular. The Nebraska senator said that job creators need to be freed from regulations and mandates in order to allow them to flourish.

“It is time to change the culture in Washington. We can't tie up small businesses in needless red tape and regulations and then expect them to create jobs and boost the economy,” Sen. Johanns said. “The federal government can't create jobs; we must help shape an economic environment conducive to job creation.”

Citing the Small Business Administration, the senator said small businesses are responsible for creating between 60 percent and 80 percent of all new jobs.

Sen. Johanns said that himself and his fellow Republicans will continue to push for a scaled back government that would allow for the creation of a prosperous economy that benefits everyone.

“It is clearly time for government to get out of the way,” Sen. Johanns said. “Our small businesses will respond with innovation and job creation.”

Dynamic Graphics/Thinkstock(CHICAGO) -- State and local governments, which spend close to $2 trillion annually on goods and services, are increasingly trying to leverage their purchasing power to favor American businesses and create jobs.

Twenty-one states had "Buy American" laws through 2009, according to the National Association of State Procurement Officials, and nearly every state has implemented preference statutes for buying from in-state producers, many added since the recession began.

In Minnesota, law enforcement agencies must buy uniforms and protective gear that's made in the U.S.A., and natural resources officers can only ride all-terrain vehicles built in the state.

Illinois agencies in the market for plastic goods must favor companies that use by-products of Illinois corn. State contracts for printing services are given out first to companies that use ink derived from Illinois-grown soybeans.

North Dakota mandates that state office buildings can only fly American flags that were sewn together on American soil.

"They all are aiming to achieve the same thing: get that economic value out of public spending," said Stacy Mitchell, a senior researcher with the Institute for Local Self-Reliance.

Most states provide exceptions to their rules, allowing purchasers to get their goods elsewhere if similar items aren't available in the U.S. And there's little indication the laws are rigorously enforced.

But Mitchell said the measures can make a difference, particularly as states broaden the use of preferences for state contracts, favoring local businesses even if their prices aren't the lowest.

Critics say purchasing preference laws put taxpayers in a bind, forcing government agencies to choose from a limited selection of goods and services, some of questionable quality and many that could cost more than those found outside the state or overseas.

Legal experts question whether the laws run against international trade agreements and possibly violate the Constitution, which says only the federal government can regulate interstate commerce, though no legal challenges have occurred.﻿

Comstock Images/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) -- Tennessee Congresswoman Diane Black delivered this week's Republican address with great emphasis on Congress' need to create jobs for Americans. Not unlike her Republican counterparts, Black said that it was Washington's policies that were getting in the way of job creation.

"Job creation has to be the number-one priority for both parties," Black said in her weekly address. "The policies of the past haven't worked, and despite some signs of life in our economy, the unemployment rate is still far above the levels that the president's advisors promised when the 'stimulus' spending bill was signed into law."

Rep. Black proposed that government get 'out of the way,' cut spending and 'remove barriers' such as regulations and taxation she says are hindering economic growth. Black added that it has been the main focus of the new majority in the House to take inventory of existing rules and regulations in Washington to "root out the ones that make it harder to create jobs."

Just like Black said was done with Obamacare, the new Republican House majority plans to vote to cut what she called "wasteful mandatory spending programs." In addition to Obama's health care bill, Black said House Republicans plan to address the Dodd-Frank financial regulation that she says is "drying up credit" for small businesses and EPA rules that are hurting job creation and creating higher fuel prices for Americans.

Black closed the address urging Senate Democrats to pass H.R. 1, a bill that passed in the House two weeks ago to cut federal spending and keep government running through the end of the fiscal year. In the meantime, a short-term measure was passed that cuts spending by $4 billion and allows another two weeks for the Senate to pass H.R. 1, or to pass an alternative that will work for Americans, Black said.